But given the problems in that system, Emanuel said he would hope Brizard would have ruffled feathers, and says he might also have to do so in Chicago.

“Where we’re not succeeding, I want to measure how they turned that around, which is why I called for a five-year performance contract for every school,” Emanuel said. “I do expect a system that has those results to be turned around, and to turn it around, you’ll have to shake it up, and that’s OK.”

But Emanuel told reporters that lawsuits like the one Brizard faced in Rochester are part of the territory when a school district leader is trying to make major changes. He says U.S. Secretary of Education and former Chicago schools CEO Arne Duncan faced similar accusations.